Beneil Dariush has explained how he thinks he might be able to take advantage of Islam Makhachev.
Dariush and Makhachev will be trading leather on Feb. 26. This will be a pivotal bout in the UFC lightweight division. Khabib Nurmagomedov has claimed that if Makhachev defeats Dariush, he will receive a 155-pound title opportunity. For Dariush, this is his chance to derail the hype train and possibly get his first crack at UFC gold.
Beneil Dariush Sees Path To Victory
Beneil Dariush was a guest on SiriusXM’s Fight Nation and he discussed the moment that Makhachev was on his radar.
“He kind of jumped on my radar when Dana said, ‘Hey, I wanna see Islam vs. Dariush next.’ It was after the Thiago Moises fight cause at that time I was number four or five I don’t know, whatever. Or I was number three, I don’t remember but at that time he was like eight I think. So, that was the first time Dana mentioned him for us to fight and I was a little bit surprised cause I thought I’d get someone higher. I said, ‘Alright, I guess this is the fight that’s gonna happen.'”
Stylistically, Dariush sees a lot of similarities between himself and Makhachev. He talked about how he thinks he can exploit the highly-touted grappler.
“It’s a mirror. You’re looking at yourself in a lot of ways. He’s southpaw, I’m southpaw. We’re 5’10 both of us, I think he might be taller than me though, and uses a lot of feints, prefers to grapple. I’m the same. So, I think what I can take advantage of is the transitions. Basically, the MMA aspect of it. I think going from one style to the other style to the other style, I think that’s where I can find something. That’s gonna be the game plan is who could be the better MMA fighter.”
Dariush is riding a wave of momentum unlike anything he’s experienced in his pro MMA career. He’s riding a seven-fight winning streak. He’s also coming off the biggest win of his career, which was a unanimous decision over Tony Ferguson back in May at UFC 262 in Houston, Texas.
Makhachev has a nine-fight winning streak going. The lone defeat of his MMA career was a knockout loss to Adriano Martins back in 2015. Since that fight, he has looked unstoppable.
"It's a mirror. You're looking at yourself in a lot of ways." @beneildariush breaks down competing against his next opponent Islam Makhachev with @DinThomas and @RyanMcKinnell
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— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) December 1, 2021
